Ryan blazes the ultra trail
The running bug bit after a half marathon race in Knysna
● Ryan Sandes, the first man to win an ultra-trail race on every continent, all four desert races and the premier Western States 100 trail run last year, will take on his most extreme challenge yet in March: racing the 1 406km Great Himalayan Trail with his friend Ryno Griesel.
The lean Capetonian, who looks more like a surfer than an ultras legend, says: “The Himalayan traverse should be an epic soulful journey.”
To break the record, Sandes must run the equivalent of an ultra marathon each day for under 28 days in Nepal, at high altitude where it is hard just to breathe. They will ascend over 68 000m on trails which most people take roughly five months to trek.
The record was set in 2016 by South African Andrew Porter, 42, who took 28 days 13 hours 56 minutes.
Sandes has the grit for this, after entrenching his status as one of the world’s top ultra-trail runners when he won the Western States 100 (161km) in California last June, running through snow and heat in the Sierra Nevada mountains.
He said it was a fairy-tale journey getting there, and coming first felt like the pinnacle of his running career.
His wife Vanessa and toddler Max have helped put races like this into perspective, said Sandes.
“Max doesn’t really care if I come last. He just wants me to be a good dad,” said Sandes, who celebrated with them at the finish.
“The first time I ran the Western 100 in 2012 I came second. There are so many uncontrollable elements and this time I was mentally tougher.”
His international victories include elite races like the Leadville 100 in the US, where he ran the third fastest time yet, the Atacama Crossing in Chile and the Last Desert in Antarctica.
Sandes said: “With big-race wins, it’s more the small moments that stand out. At Leadville I had a special time with Vanessa and met cool people.
“Winning a race with my dog Sandy for Canine Search and Rescue was one of my best events.” Sandes has also won and set records on dozens of ultra-trail events locally, including the Puffer Ultra Marathon across Table Mountain, the Otter Trail Run and the Fish River Canyon Trail in Namibia.
His first extreme race was in the Gobi desert in Asia in 2008, after he stumbled into distance running. “I was in Knysna in 2006 and my mates were running the half marathon. The entries for the half were full so I did the marathon with minimal training and that’s when the running bug bit.”
He joined the Hout Bay road running club and then discovered the highs of trail running. Sandes said: “I’ve always been an allor-nothing person, so I looked up extreme trail races and entered the Gobi.
“I did a lot of preparation for Gobi, not like Knysna. I’ve always been naturally competitive and wanted to come in the top 20 and I ended up winning it.”
After he won the Sahara race in Egypt the same year, Sandes opted to chase his passion and gave up his job in property development. “(American ultra hero) Dean Karnazes helped a lot with this,” he said.
“Trail running has really grown since I started. We now have a global circuit race on our doorstep: the Ultratrail Cape Town (he placed 2nd last year).”
In 2015 Sandes got glandular fever and had to rest. “I had been doing well and training hard and was overdoing it.
“I’m not defined by racing and get as much value going for a run with mates. Now my racing is spread out and I do projects in between,” he said.
“What got me into the sport was adventure, the unknown, and that’s the same reason we are going to Nepal.”